Sharing Keynote Projects

Keynote is a great platform for creating multimedia family history projects. But what happens once the project is finished? Fortunately, Apple offers lots of sharing options including options for people who don’t have Apple equipment. Here’s a look at some of those options.

The Share menu in Keynote for iOS

In these examples, I’m editing a Keynote presentation on my iPad. The presentation is saved in iCloud so I can edit it here, on my Mac or using Keynote online. The sharing options shown here are the ones available in the Keynote for iOS app.

Start by tapping the Share icon in the Keynote toolbar. The sharing panel you see in the example above shows your options. I’m choosing the Send a Copy option.

Format options for sharing a presentation

First, I’ll be asked to choose which format I want to share this presentation. It can be shared as a Keynote presentation, a PowerPoint presentation or a PDF document. If you have audio or video included in the presentation, you would not want to use the PDF option.

Sharing options panel appears when you tap the Chose How to Send link

After selecting a format, another panel appears asking you to choose how you want to send this copy. When you tap that link, the options panel appears. The options you see will depend on the apps you have installed and the sharing options you have set for your computer/device. Select the option you want and follow the prompts to address and send your presentation file.

You can also share the presentation via iCloud. This option means that it doesn’t matter what operating system or apps your “audience” has. However, there is one problem that you can’t control – fonts. Since your viewers probably won’t have the same fonts installed, the display will be different. The viewer’s computer will automatically change unknown fonts to local “default” ones. The sample presentation shown here uses a custom font so most viewers on another computer will see an entirely different font. You may want to stick with fonts like Arial and Times New Roman when you are creating projects for display on unknown computers. When fonts are important and you want your viewers to see it the way you created it, share in the PDF format.

Use this option to share the presentation on the web

One other export option – exporting to video – must be done from a Mac. Once exported, it can be posted online for viewing by anyone with a web browser.

Keynote is a great platform for building beautiful family history projects and Keynote’s sharing options make sure you can distribute those projects to family members regardless of the computer or device they use. Experimenting with some test options – and cooperating family members – will help you determine which are best for you.